This is a gentle delineation，is it not，reader? Yet he whom it describes scarcely impressed one with the idea of a gentle，a yielding，an impressible，or even of a placid nature. Quiescent as he now sat，there was something about his nostril，his mouth，his brow，which，to my perceptions，indicated elements within either restless，or hard，or eager. He did not speak to me one word，nor even direct to me one glance，till his sisters returned. Diana，as she passed in and out，in the course of preparing tea，brought me a little cake，baked on the top of the oven.

"Eat that now," she said: "you must be hungry. Hannah says you have had nothing but some gruel since breakfast."

I did not refuse it，for my appetite was awakened and keen. Mr. Rivers now closed his book，approached the table，and，as he took a seat，fixed his blue pictorial-looking eyes full on me. There was an unceremonious directness，a searching，decided steadfastness in his gaze now，which told that intention and not diffidence，had hitherto kept it averted from the stranger.

"You are very hungry," he said.

"I am，sir." It is my way- it always was my way，by instinct- ever to meet the brief with brevity，the direct with plainness.

"It is well for you that a low fever has forced you to abstain for the last three days: there would have been danger in yielding to the cravings of your appetite at first. Now you may eat，though still not immoderately."

"I trust I shall not eat long at your expense，sir," was my very clumsily-contrived，unpolished answer.